


Rescue the Scaredy Cat

by DualDreamer



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Jack being Jack, Timothy makes bad decisions, fluff?, there is an actual cat in here, this is just a fic for funsies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2019-07-05 04:11:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15855963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DualDreamer/pseuds/DualDreamer
Summary: Timothy gets stuck on a tree.It's really not that deep.(The plot, I mean. The fall to the ground would be deep. And painful.)





	1. Damsel in Distre(e)ss

Timothy didn't know how he ended up here. It was a disaster, really. Unfortunately, he seemed to be a magnet for bad luck. Though that wasn't always on him. A lot of the sticky situations he'd find himself in could be blamed on the reckless orders and missions of his boss. Jack really liked to get him into trouble. The double had strong suspicions that he did it on purpose sometimes.

This time, however, it was entirely his own fault. It was incomprehensible what possessed him to make such a stupid move like voluntarily climbing up a tree. _He was afraid of heights for crying out loud!_

A soft noise reminded him what had led to his careless decision.

Safely tucked against his chest was a little bundle of fluffy grey fur. The poor kitten had been looking so sad and scared up there that he hadn't thought twice before he followed it on the branch it was desperately clinging to. Too bad they shared the same weakness. Now they were both stuck.

Timothy sighed.

How did he even climb so high without noticing? Every time he remotely tried to take a glance down his vision began to blur. It was hard to tell the exact height while fighting heavy nausea but a fall probably wouldn't end pretty. And a blind descent was out of question if he didn't want to risk the safety of his living package.

Which meant he was screwed.

There was just one option left if he didn't want to wait until a random passerby came to help him. Or till the local wildlife decided to eat him. Or the passerby. What were the odds that he would meet a nice person out here?

Since he had no desire to find out, his hands were bound. Resigned to his fate of becoming the laughing stock of the team, he opened his ECHO device.

The only one close by was Jack. Just his luck.

He held the cat a bit tighter to gather some courage and connected the call. His employer wouldn't be pleased that Timothy disgraced his image again, even if nobody was there to see it. But it couldn't be helped.

 

This was going to be awkward...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative fic titles:  
> \- Two of the Same Kind  
> \- A Tree-cky Situation
> 
>  
> 
> So I randomly got a thought about this and decided to throw some words together. It's nothing big or particularly well-written. But it's neat and I like it. (Especially because it's so short and simple.)


	2. The Shining Hero

“Say that again.”

 

Timothy pouted. “You heard me.”

 

“Just...just one more time, c'mon.”

 

The burning heat of humiliation in his cheeks was long gone by now. Now he was just desperate to get this over with. With a sigh he repeated what he had already said several times. “I'm stuck on a tree and.... I need your help.” Sarcastically he rolled his eyes, fully aware that the other couldn't see it. “Please save me.”

That was the moment he could hear Jack reaching his breaking point and cracking up for real. Roaring laughter came out of the speakers. The sudden noise startled the cat and Timothy gently shushed it by petting its head. Patiently he waited until Jack had calmed down.

He wondered if he was wiping tears from his eyes. It sounded like he did.

Finally Jack sobered up. “But seriously. What the hell, pumpkin.”

Ah, there it was. The anticipated tinge of annoyance in his voice.

“You telling me you can't get off a fricking tree?”

“Not with the cat, no.

The sound of a hand slapping skin could be heard. “Oh for...just drop it or something! These fuzzy plagues always land their feet, don't they?”

“It's a small one, and we're pretty high up...”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just try it”, he dismissed him.

“Jack, I won't do that”, Timothy protested. “Just... help me. Please...?”, he added in the sweetest and most piteous voice he could manage. He had never tried that before, at least not on Jack. But he hoped a bit of begging would strike a chord in him.

His pleading was greeted with silence. When there didn't come an answer for a while Timothy checked if the line had disconnected. But strangely everything seemed to be fine. A bit worried he spoke up again.

“Jack? Are you still there?”

That shook his boss out of whatever trance he was trapped in. Hurried and sounding somewhat embarrassed, if that was possible, Jack replied.

“Yeah, yup, I'm here, I'm TOTALLY here. Absolutely, at full attention.” He winced at himself. “Just uh...thinking about the very important things you interrupted with your little emergency call.”

The double could faintly hear some words Jack grumbled under his breath. From the snippets he made out it gave him a very different impression on what just happened but he decided not to comment for peace's sake. After all he still needed something.

“So”, he casually inquired, “are you coming to get me or what?”

Jack coughed, mind still somewhere else.

“Watch your tongue. And sure, I'll be there in a bit. Don't do any other stupid shit till I'm on site to witness it, 'kay?”

And then he hung up.

Well, Timothy thought, that worked better than he expected. Who knew he could skip the lecture about the vital necessity of being in a constant state of swag by making verbal puppy eyes? Now he only had to hope that Jack's pride would prevent him from telling the others about his latest misadventure and he was all set.

 

It turned out, Jack meant by “him” picking him up that he'd send a Loader Bot. Kinda anti-climatic, but at least that way he could persuade himself that his boss wasn't seeing him clinging in fear at strong metal arms while he was pried out of the tree and flown back to the base afterwards. As if the bastard didn't watch every single second through the camera feed transmitted by the robot's eye.

An hour later, he was safely escorted back (although his stomach had a contrary opinion about that). To his surprise, his employer was already awaiting him.

“Ah, good, still in one piece, I see.” Jack gave the Loader Bot a jovial pat. “Great job, buddy. Can't have my stuff be damaged.” A wink was sent in Timothy's direction who honestly didn't know whether he had referred to the bot or him.

He was about to say something else when someone decided to make itself known. Jack frowned.

“What the hell is that?”

Only now he noticed Timothy's jacket was zipped up (a fashion crime in itself and a breach of protocol on top of that). His eyes fixated on a weirdly shaped bulge as suddenly a furry head popped out at the collar. He groaned.

“You brought the damn cat?”

Timothy pursed his lips.

“What was I supposed to do, leave Rhode there?

“YES, you..wait, you already named it?” Jack rubbed his temple in disbelief. Timothy opened his mouth but before he could defend himself he was silenced by a raised finger.

“You know what, I don't care. But if that fur ball shits anywhere it's not supposed to I'll cut that from your salary AND will make you clean it up with your bare hands, capiche?”

He was too happy to care about the possible punishment. Poor relief flooded him as he thanked his boss profusely.

Jack waved it off. “Hey it's your time, energy and money you're wasting, not mine. Don't mention it, kiddo.” However, a hint of mischief crossed his face as he stepped closer. “Though if you're really grateful”, he murmured into his ear, “you can use that sexy little voice from earlier more often.”

With a laugh at Timothy's flustered face he turned around and walked away, a cheerful whistle on his lips.

Leaving behind an awkwardly spluttering body double while his new pet looked up at him in confusion.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I literally have no self-control I turned this poor innocent one-shot into a two chapter story.
> 
> But this is really the end of it this time, I have other fics to write, dammit. xD


	3. Patience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in like an hour on impulse. The idea had been bouncing in my head for longer and now I finally couldn't resist it.
> 
> Here, take part three of this damn fic. xD

"Rhode?"

His voice echoed through the halls of Helios without an answer.

"Where are you?" Timothy clicked his tongue, hoping to lure out his cat from wherever it was hiding. "Kitty cat?"

But despite him cooing and pleading in his softest tone, promising his pet treats and cuddles, the little grey tabby did not magically appear. His hands flopped uselessly to his side. He could not believe that he had been so dumb to leave the door open by accident. Now his beloved Rhode was who knows where. The little fur ball was more curious than it was good for her, and there was good reason why he preferred to keep her adventuring restricted to the confides of his apartment. The space station was a dangerous place, even grown adults died like flies up here, and it was no suitable playground for a small animal. Tim shuddered when he imaged how Rhode might have ended up as a test subject- No! He would stay positive. His sweet kitten was quick and intelligent, despite its fear of heights. Just like Lawrence always escaped dangerous situations on his mission, so would his cat. He firmly believed in it.

His faith, however, could not sooth his anxiety completely. It had been a day since Rhode vanished, and no one he asked had seen her. 

Defeated, he made his way back to the Hub of Heroism. Maybe this time he had more luck. Tim would check all the hiding spots again, uncaring if any other employees gave him weird looks for crawling underneath the tables. He was Jack's double, nobody would stop him. And if his boss' reputation suffered a little, who gave a shit? Jack never mingled with the lower peons anyway, so there was no way he would ever hear any rumours or find out about-

Oh no.

Timothy's brisk walk towards the Hub came to a screeching halt. Right there, in the middle of the huge main hall sat Handsome Jack, surrounded by a cloud of adoring fans. And even worse: Lounging comfortably on his lap and getting tummy rubs by the large tanned hand was his kitten!

He stared in disbelief at the surreal display, and the longer he watched the more he felt a pang of bitterness inside him. Rhode never sat down on Tim's legs, not even when he bribed her with salmon. By now he had just resigned to the fact that she was not a lap cat. And yet he could clearly see her enjoying the affections bestowed on her by his boss, who didn't even like cats!

Didn't Jack constantly complain about Tim keeping the cat? What the hell happened to that!?

His jealousy only grew, and finally he could not take it anymore. Elbowing his way through the crowd he did not stop until he stood before Jack who had observed his rough approach with lips quirking into an amused smile.

"Well, well, well... If it isn't my favourite body double. Hey everyone, say hello to the other Jack."

Tim ignored the chorus of mindless worker bees answering the request, he impatiently waited until he could get a word in. 

"Give me my cat, Jack."

Jack raised a brow.

"What's with the cold tone? And, what, no greeting back? You're pretty rude today, cupcake."

Timothy exhaled sharply, and with outstretched hands he stepped closer.

"I want my damn cat. You said you didn't want anything to do with her, now stop petting her."

It did not help that during all of this, Rhode continued to purr as loud and steady as a well oiled motor. Jack was surprisingly patient with Tim's sour mood, however, and simply made some shooing gestures to disperse the gawking peanut gallery. When it did not have an immediate effect, he pulled his gun and raised it towards the ceiling.

A classic.

In less than two minutes the Hub was as empty as the endless void of space outside of Helios. Without even having to fire a single shot, Jack holstered his pistol in satisfaction. It was good to know his scary factor was as high as ever. Now that they were alone and had some privacy, he patted the seat next to him. Tim frowned at him for another minute before he begrudgingly planted his ass on the bench. They sat there in silence for a while, Tim brooding and Jack gleefully watching him from the side. He continued to pet Rhode, softly rubbing her chin and that spot behind her ears. Eventually, Timothy's gaze fell back on the cat and his lips thinned.

"Do you want to know the secret?"

"What?" Tim jumped in his seat, apparently he had been deep in thought. When he caught up with what Jack's his frown returned, but this time with a hint of curious confusion.

"What do you mean?", he asked carefully.

Jack smirked.

"You're so cute when you're jealous, pumpkin. I wanna have a bit of mercy and tell you why this fur ball ditches your ass for mine."

Tim scoffed. "I don't need your advice, okay? It's not like she never cuddles with me."

In fact Rhode had been very needy and constantly begged for his attention by rolling herself on the floor or climbing onto his face while he slept just to get a few pets. He bit his lip.

"It's just that she- nevermind."

"Never gets on your lap, huh?" Jack had put on a face of fake pity. Tim hated it. "Cats are fickle bitches. And ya know how you get her?"

He had stopped his ministrations for a while now, but Tim did not notice. He was too busy listening to Jack because despite his claims he was actually desperate to know the secret. Not realising that his lesson already started and succeeded.

"You have to stop running after her and let her come to you."

Timothy gasped when suddenly a paw set its weight on his leg, and his eyes widened while Rhode climbed into his lap. The cat had been bored by Jack's neglect and sought out the next best human to bestow her with affection. A smug grin was plastered all over Jack's face while he watched his awestruck double who barely dared to touch the kitten.

"Aw... Are you crying?"

"No."

A loud sniffle said otherwise, but not even Jack's relentless teasing could dampen the joy Tim felt in that moment.


End file.
